Second day of the Evalution

Although he told her that she could stay, after dinner Emily went back to her room. He knew that she should be alright since he got rid of what was causing her amplified emotions, but the worry that he would be proven wrong stayed with him until the next day. He could forcefully ignore it, but he instead allowed this worry to stay rooted as he finally collected some information and handled a few tasks during the night.

However, the next day, he was eager to see how she was doing. He didn't want to be a creep, so he took his time getting ready and having breakfast and even left a message with Alicia's secret guards for her. It was just a message saying that he would be heading off, but this was still the first time he made the effort to inform her. He then made his way down to Emily's room and knocked on the door.

After leaving Shui's room, Emily used this alone time to try and sort things out for herself. First, how would she treat her parents and aunt? She had no intention of kneeling to them, and she knew neither Shui nor Adrian would want her to either. However, she couldn't just ignore them either. Whether it was good thing or not, they had still taken care of her when she was little. She was willing to consider giving them money if they were truly in desperate need for it, but she had to properly talk to them first. She wouldn't allow it to become a situation where she had to become their bank. Maybe they thought differently, but that wasn't her idea of being filial.

Next, was the fact that the Valet family was basically finished. Nonetheless, she wasn't very loyal to the family so their end didn't bother her too much, and it wouldn't even be a worry if it wasn't for the 'gift' they left. On one hand, she didn't have to take any responsibility because like Shui said, she couldn't have stopped them even if she knew. Unfortunately, her guilt wouldn't take that excuse and leave. She wasn't sure if she wanted to seek forgiveness, but a trip to Cyrus would likely be necessary.

Her third worry, and the one she wished was the only one, was the evaluation ahead of her. For the preliminaries, she believed she would be fine as long as she kept doing her best, but no one knew what sort of difficulties she might run into so she had to keep her guard up. Her final worry, was regarding the assassins that were after her. They hadn't tried to attack her since she moved to the Myriad Flower Pavilion, but with her growing fame, it would be easier for them to track her down at any time.

Emily sighed as she thought of how much trouble she had to deal with, but now she could at least figure out what to prioritize.

'After the evaluation and a trip back to Rockshaw, I should visit Cyrus. It would be nice to visit with Shui, but I can't inconvenience him. I can only deal with the assassins as they appear for now so I'll put it aside. As for my family... I'll try to have a talk with them after the preliminaries. I don't know how it'll go, but it's the least I can do. Whew, now that I've sorted out that, I can finally focus on the competition.'

The next day, with a steady blaze in her eyes, Emily put on her earrings. She always brought them with her ever since she bought them, but she felt reluctant to wear them in public because they felt special to her. But now, the fire inside told her that this wasn't the time for such meek thoughts. Ever since the death of her master, she made a habit of hiding her true emotions and suppressing herself, but after facing yesterday's events, she felt that she had experienced a silent change. With all of her hidden concerns right before her, she felt that she could focus everything she had on the challenges ahead.

'I don't know if I've ever felt like this before, but it's a nice feeling. As if I've awaken to some strength that I never knew I had.'

Immersed in this motivated energy, Emily took her time getting used to it until she heard a knock at the door. She had a good idea of who would be behind the door, so she took a deep breath before she opened it.

When Shui saw Emily, he could immediately tell that she had gone through a transformation. Even more so than before she was pushed to the precipice of her mind, he could sense her firm will. If she was just an avenger before, then now he sensed the confidence of a champion. This time, he didn't even feel sad that she wasn't the selfish yet charming girl that he remembered.

With a nod of his head, he greeted her with a bright smile.

"Great. It's only been a couple hours but, it's good to see you again."

Emily in turn, responded with a slightly smug expression, "Yes, I agree. I know I said you didn't have to come since I'd certainly advance, but would you mind watching my performance once more today?"

Her words insinuated a humble air, but her face told a story of arrogance. However, this fit her almost too well in a way that made Shui especially pleased.

"Of course."

When the two left the inn, they naturally attracted attention despite the fact that the sun was still getting up. After all, by now everyone knew about the genius array master, and Shui made it so that people could see but not recognize him, which allowed his charm to be on display without revealing his identity. The sight of the two side-by-side would surely sprout several rumours, but Shui didn't think it would be anything to worry about.

The enemies Emily had to be wary of weren't the type that would waste their time messing with her reputation at this stage; she had to be prepared for direct action taken against her, and Shui would make sure that attempts was all that would become of them.

After they turned a corner and it was one straight path to the amphitheater, Shui noticed a particular group of three, and Emily was the same. However, she didn't flinch, take a step back or reach for Shui's hand. All she did was narrow her eyes and step strongly towards them. Praising her in his mind, Shui discreetly walked behind her and lowered his presence so that only she could perceive him.

Emily had the choice to blatantly ignore them, but she chose to approach them instead. Her father and aunt had sour expressions, but her mother was still 'excited' to see her.

"Oh Emily! I'm glad-"

Not waiting for the spiel she would spew, Emily cut off her mother.

"I'm sorry but, I really want to focus on the preliminaries right now. If it's not something urgent, could you leave this until the day after tomorrow when the preliminaries are over?"

Emily then followed up with a polite bow, glanced at their speechless faces and walked off again.